Letting Go
by Randi
Summary: my first Good Morning Miami fic. I'm not good at summaries, so just read it and find out. PLEASE R
1. Getting Through

Letting Go  
  
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Author's Note - Hey, ok, first Good Morning, Miami fic *obviously* but I'm givin it a go. I'm not sure which direction its gunna be going, Penny/Jake, or Dylan/Jake. Lemme know what you think. And well, on with it. OH, and its not really incorporated into the show that well, but its before mee so torny, 1-16-03, so ya. This is the first chapter in my little series I'm startin here. Hope you like it.  
  
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Disclaimer - its just for my fun here, I'm not makin any money for it, so don't sue. I don't own anything, except Bobo's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor and Figarro's Pizza place.  
  
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Getting Through  
  
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Penny walked into her apartment and collapsed on the couch. It was the same thing everyday. Jake telling her about his Dylan adventures. Obviously it would take more than a little sarcasm to get it across to him that she didn't want to hear about Dylan. It tore her up, ever since she developed a crush on him. She didn't meant for it to happen. Jake was the last person she thought she'd ever go for. Ever, and yet it had happened. To top it all off, he was obsessed with Dylan, so it would never last. It was a lose-lose situation.  
  
What she needed was a night out on the town. She wanted to go out dancing or something. Preferrably, in a place where no one would recognize her. All she wanted to do was get lost in the music, she wasn't much of a dancer, and wasn't about to make a fool of herself in front of people she didn't know  
  
She was finally about ready to go, when there was a knock on her door.  
  
Penny: Halt, who goes there.  
  
Person at the door: The Easter bunny  
  
Penny: Nice try Jake  
  
Jake: Can I come in?  
  
Penny: I guess  
  
Penny walks to the door and opens it to find a very excited and jumpy Jake.  
  
Penny: Geez, who spiked your coffee?  
  
Jake: Huh?  
  
Penny: Nevermind, so why are you all jumpy?  
  
Jake: I just go off the phone with Dylan, and her and Gavin had a huge fight and broke up. I'm on my way over there now to go console her.  
  
Penny: .and you came all the way over here to tell me this? She lives in completely the other side of town, why didn't you just call me on your way over there?  
  
Jake: Ya know what? Good idea. I'll call you in a minute or two from the Jeep  
  
Penny: You and your Jeep  
  
Jake: What?!?  
  
Penny: Never mind, just go, call me  
  
Jake: Bye Penny  
  
She closed the door once Jake was gone and once again collapsed on the couch and sighed. She reached over to grab the phone, knowing it would be ringing any second, and sure enough, just as her hand touched it, it started to ring.  
  
Penny: Bobo's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor, how may I help you?  
  
Jake: Funny Penny, anyways, like I was saying earlier, I was just sitting there, trying to find something to watch, when my phone rings. At first, I wasn't going to answer it, but then, I thought, maybe its Dylan, and sure enough, it was. I could tell she had been crying and she told me about how Gavin decided it was over between them, and he told her to have her stuff out by the end of the month. So I told her I'd come over and we'd talk about it and I'd help her pack.  
  
Penny: I'm sorry, did you say something?  
  
Jake: Come on Penny, this is no time to be sarcastic, just think, by the end of the week, Dylan will probably be living with me. Isn't that exciting?  
  
Penny: Ya Jake, it really is.  
  
Jake: I gotta go now, I have another call to make.  
  
Penny: Alright then, bye  
  
When she hung up the phone, she just sunk back into the couch. She said out loud to no on in particular 'Obviously I'm not going out tonight, I'm too bummed'  
  
She turned on the TV and decided to watch Friends, she needed something to cheer her up. Somewhere between Will and Grace, and the new sitcom, Good Evening, Seattle, she fell asleep.  
  
*DREAM SEQUENCE*  
  
Penny is sitting on the couch in Jake's office waiting for him to finish his daily coffee time with Dylan, except he's running late today. All of a sudden he appears in the doorway:  
  
Jake: Guess what Penny, I've forgotten all about my foolish love for Dylan because I'm falling in love with you.  
  
*End*  
  
All of a sudden she bolts up. "Dude, that was a little on the freaky side"  
  
She turns off the TV after ER is over and goes to bed, hoping not to have another dream like that again.  
  
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The alarm woke her up from a deep slumber. After hitting the snooze button around 5 times, she finally got up and got in the shower. Once she was all ready, she looked at the clock. "Jesus: It was only 6:30, the earliest she had been up in what seemed to be forever. Since she still had ample time before she had to be to work, she decided to go out for a run. She hadn't been out running for quite a long time. She grabbed her stuff and set out on her trek.  
  
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At 7:45 she reached the station. She felt good after her run, though no on would notice, since no one ever saw who she really was at work, not even Jake. She didn't like dwelling on that though. It was a new day, with a whole bunch of new sarcasm.  
  
She walked in and waltzed right into Jake's office. To her surprise, he was already there, sitting on his couch. He looked horrible, absolutely horrible. She just wanted to go give him a hug, but instead, sat down next to him.  
  
Penny: Hey Jake, what's wrong?  
  
Jake: I really don't wanna talk about it right now Penny, alright?  
  
Penny: Ok, fine, I'll go away  
  
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Penny walked out of Jake's office and saw Dylan getting her morning coffee. She walked over to her, thinking to herself 'civil conversation, civil conversation' She just wanted to know what was wrong with Jake, her Jake.  
  
Penny: Hey Dylan.  
  
Dylan: Hey Penny, whats up?  
  
Penny: Umm, actually, I wanted to see if you knew what was wrong with Jake.  
  
Dylan: No, uh, nope, I mean, he came over last night and we talked, he helped me pack and I asked him to move out *Gasp* maybe that's it, *pause* but he seemed so fine with it before. Oh, now I really fell bad for him. Maybe I should go apologize.  
  
Penny just looks at her. 'Is she really that blind. I mean, isn't it obvious that Jake has a major crush on her?' then she just shook her head and walked to her desk. 'And the morning started out so well too' She looked up to see that Dylan had followed her to her desk.  
  
Dylan: Penny, is there something you aren't telling me?  
  
Penny wanted to scream yes, and you are so BLIND that you don't even see it, he's been right in front of you the whole time, but chose not to.  
  
Penny: Its nothing, now would you leave me alone?, I have work to do.  
  
Dylan: Alright, bye  
  
Penny sat there and watched Dylan walk away with a very confused look on her face. She put her headphones oh and listed to a random mix of songs, a CD Jake had burned for her. After about half an hour, she decided to go see how Jake was doing. The door was locked, to her surprise, so she gave a little knock.  
  
Jake: Who is it?  
  
Penny: A very non-sarcastic Penny, can I come talk?  
  
Jake didn't say anything, he just came and opened the door for her. He went back to his desk and just sat there, while Penny went and threw herself on the couch. She looked at him and how broken he looked.  
  
Penny: I know what's wrong Jake, u wanna talk about it?  
  
Jake: You talked to her?  
  
Penny: Ya, and its not as bad as you think it is.  
  
Jake: How so?  
  
Penny: I don't know, it just seemed like the kinda thing you say in a situation like this.  
  
Jake: Oh, Ok  
  
They just sat there like that for a whil, finally, Penny said:  
  
Penny: You'll find someone, maybe Dylan wasn't the one, maybe there's someone 10 times better than her staring you right in the face and you just don't see her.  
  
Jake: Like who, Penny?  
  
Penny: I dunno, never mind, ya know what? Just forget I even mentioned it.  
  
With that she got up and walked out of the room.  
  
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After what seemed like forever, her lunch hour finally came. She decided to jog down to Figarro's pizza and pick up a slice. She also decides to pick up a movie for later on that evening too. She picked out Legally Blonde, because she needed something cheery. With all her stopping, she just barely makes it back in time. She sits down at her desk, puts her headphones on, and gets back to the same boring stuff that is her job. While sitting there, she sees Dylan look at her every chance she gets. Finally, Penny can't stand it anymore, she gets up and goes over to talk to Dylan.  
  
Penny: Look Dylan, if you have something to say, just say it, ok?  
  
Dylan: what are you talking about Penny?  
  
Penny: Look, you know what I'm talking about, you've been giving me weird looks all day and I'm sick of it.  
  
Dylan: Its nothing, except, well, I saw you go in and talk to Jake earlier, and now he's to busy to let me come in to talk, and I'm just getting worried is all.  
  
Penny: Its nothing, he's just out of it today. Look, if it'll get you off my back, I'll go talk to him for you, ok?  
  
Dylan: Ok, but his door's locked, so you can't just walk in.  
  
Penny: Ya I can  
  
Penny went and walked over to her desk and grabbed her office keys. It was times like this where she was glad she had a spare key to Jake's office.  
  
She walked to his door, unlocked it, and walked right on in. When she closed the door, she look at him and saw he was asleep. She decided not to wake him up and just let him sleep.  
  
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When he finally did wake up, he didn't even notice Penny sitting on the couch staring at him. Little did he know, that while he was asleep she had been admiring him from the couch, taking in everything he did. Just watching him sleep was like an automatic high for her. 'No Penny, he's not your type, he'll never go for you.' Jake still hasn't seen her so she says something to get his attention.  
  
Penny: Earth to Jake, come in Jake  
  
Jake nearly falls out of his chair and looks over to see Penny.  
  
Jake: Jesus Penny, you scared the crap outta me.  
  
Penny: I know, ok, look, I know you wanna be alone, but I came in to make a proposition. I know you're practically homeless right now, but if you need a place to stay for a while, I have a nice spare bedroom. Plus, I need a little help with my rent, its being jacked up.  
  
Jake: Thanks Penny, I'll think about it.  
  
Penny: Anytime.  
  
With that she gets up and leaves, leaving Jake staring into space yet again.  
  
Penny walks back to her desk and starts to think to herself. 'God he's so beautiful when he sleeps, I hope he want to come live with me, then everything would be just perfect'  
  
Just then she sees Dylan walk into Jake's office and close the door.  
  
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End of Chapter 1, tell me what you think, PLEASE. I really LOVE reviews, it's what keeps me going. You can email me at mountain_dew_4u@msn.com for comments, suggestions, or flames. Oh ya, and don't forget to review. 


	2. Giving Him Up

Letting Go part 2  
  
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Author's note - Ok, thanks for the reviews. I decided to make it quick and update ASAP. This is just a fun little fun fic. It will eventually become Jake/Penny, just give it time. Umm, well, read, review, and have fun. Now on with it.  
  
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Disclaimer - hey, I don't own anything, this is just for my personal enjoyment. I do own Kris, Jess, and Geoff's/the coffee place.  
  
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Giving Him Up  
  
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Jake's Office  
  
Dylan closed the door and walked to his desk.  
  
Dylan - hey, we need to talk  
  
Jake - about what exactly?  
  
Dylan - about yesterday.  
  
Jake - well, what about yesterday?  
  
Dylan - you know what I mean, you said everything was fine, and obviously today it isn't.  
  
Jake - yes, yes it is, I'm fine, perfectly perfect.  
  
Dylan - Jake, I may not know you that well, but I know something is wrong. Why won't you talk about it with me, but you will with Penny?  
  
Jake - Because, I can easily talk to Penny, it just comes naturally for me. Plus you're always to busy with Gavin to have a nice little conversation with me.  
  
Dylan - Ugh, Jake, I'm never too busy to talk to anybody.  
  
Jake - Umm, yes you are.  
  
Dylan - Name one time.  
  
Jake - That's not important, its just you've never wanted to talk to me before, why do you all of a sudden want to start now?  
  
Dylan - Jake, I'm just worried about you, even more now, you've never been one to question me like that.  
  
Jake - Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you thought.  
  
Dylan - Whatever, let me know when you've cooled down so we can have a decent conversation  
  
With that, she walks out the door. She walks over to Penny's desk.  
  
Dylan - You try to reason with him, I can't get across to him.  
  
Penny - You're probably going at it all wrong, you can't get mad at him, and he is easily frustrated. Here, lets both go in and talk to him, ok?  
  
Dylan - Alright, Fine, it won't work though.  
  
Penny - Oh, don't worry, it will.  
  
Penny starts to think to herself 'Why on earth am I helping her, I honestly can't stand to be around her' She tried Jake's door, but it was locked. She grabbed out her key and then she and Dylan walked on in.  
  
Jake - How'd you get in here?  
  
Penny - Same way I got in early, *takes out her key* I made a spare key.  
  
Jake - Alright, so what brings you to in here civilly?  
  
Penny - Well, Dylan really wants to talk to you about earlier, and I'm just here to make sure she doesn't screw it up. Now go ahead Dylan.  
  
Dylan - OK, Jake, last night, I didn't mean to tell you that you need to move out of my place, I was just angry. I really could use a roommate like you.  
  
Penny's thoughts - Damn it, I knew I shouldn't have made friends with her, it all just came back exploding in my face.  
  
Dylan - So, do you wanna live with me?  
  
Jake - Umm, well, since my stuff is already there, sure why not.  
  
Dylan - Great.  
  
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After that Penny just left. She walked to her desk got everything she needed, and just left the building, not bothering to look back. It wasn't like anyone would notice her missing it would take a while, considering someone would notice all the dry sarcasm missing from the office place. She just started walking, she didn't pay attention to where she was going, just kept walking.  
  
After sometime walking, she ended up in front of the coffee house she used to hang out at all the time. It had changed its name from Geoff's to simply, The Coffee Place. She walked inside and looked around. Besides the name, not much had changed. Sure things had been moved around a bit, but it was still pretty much the same. She went and sat on the love seat that was in the corner.  
  
All of a sudden her old friend Jess came strolling in. Penny was surprised, yet wasn't ready to face her old friends, she had left them over 2 years ago and never contacted any of them afterwards. 'Sh*t, Sh*t, what am I gonna do?'  
  
Jess - *just so there's no confusion, Jess is a guy, and Kris is a girl* Oh My God, Penny, Is that you?  
  
Penny - Umm, ya, it is me, SURPRISE?  
  
Jess - Oh My God, I haven't seen you since you left. How come you haven't called or anything?  
  
Penny - Don't ask me, cuz I really don't know.  
  
Jess - Oh, ok, well, hey, Kris is gonna be here any minute, we were just planning on catching a movie. Do you wanna come?  
  
Penny - Well, If Kris is ok with it then sure. Are you two, ya know, dating?  
  
Jess - Oh no, no, we're just gonna go see a movie.  
  
Penny - Oh, ok, just wondering.  
  
Jess - Its ok, well, we were planning on seeing A Guy Thing, I don't know how she talked me into it, but I've been drifting of sort of. I would have said yes to Crossroads. *Penny lets out a laugh* well, maybe not that far.  
  
All of a sudden Kris comes walking in.  
  
Jess - Hey Kris, guess who I found  
  
Kris - Oh My God, is that Penny?  
  
Penny - Ya, it is me, why is it such a big deal, I've gotten like, 3 Oh My God's. I always thought I wasn't that important, I just picked right out of the group. I didn't think anyone even missed me.  
  
Kris - Is that what you thought? Penny, we were all crushed when you left, I know you only moved across town, but we are as far away from each other as we can be in Miami. We were just waiting for you to get a hold of us. I mean, if I would've known.  
  
Penny - Its ok, I'm sorry, I guess I just never had time. So, I guess we better get going to the movies.  
  
Jess - Ok, but you know we're coming back here to talk afterwards. We have some serious catching up to do.  
  
Penny - I know, so, let's go.  
  
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Both Kris and Jess insisted on having her sit between them, they bought her way into the movie, plus all her refreshments. All of the good times that those three had had together came flooding back to her. They had been the best of friends, plus Abby, Jake Nelson, not her Jake, and Joey. She and Jess had dated for a short period of time, but they broke up because their friendship was much more important. They were all really close, but Jess and her more than the others. Kris was always there for the two of them too.  
  
Once the movie was over, all three of them walked back to The Coffee Place. Somehow, all three of them managed to fit on the two person love seat comfortably.  
  
Jess - Gosh Penny, We've all missed you.  
  
Kris - Ya, why didn't you ever bother to call?  
  
Penny - I really don't know. Can we just talk about something happier, please. I've had a bad day.  
  
Jess - Ok, well, Abby and Joey are engaged. The started dating right after you left.  
  
Kris - Ya, and Jake left us for Seattle last year, but he's back now. He couldn't handle all the rain there, it was too cold for him.  
  
Penny - Sounds like I've missed a lot. Man, some days I wish I would've never left. My new life is nothing compared to this life. I used to have fun all the time. *She sighs and looks at her watch* Shoot guys, I have to go. I have a few things to do tonight. Hey, call me, we'll do something this weekend, ok?  
  
Jess/Kris - Ok, works for us.  
  
They all hug and she looks at Jess for a moment before she leaves.  
  
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She had jogged home, so it didn't take too long. When she walks in her apartment she nearly falls over. She sees Jake sitting on her couch.  
  
Penny - Holy Sh*t Jake, you scared the crap outta me. How'd you get in here?  
  
Jake - Hey, You're not the only one who has a spare key.  
  
Penny - Ok, I'm not gonna bother to ask how you got that.  
  
Jake - No, its yours, you have a spare set in your desk, so I borrowed them. What took you so long? I've been here for at least 2 hours.  
  
Penny - I was just out with some friends.  
  
Jake - Who?  
  
Penny - Just some old friends, no one you would know.  
  
Jake - Ok, well where'd you go, you just left work 2 hours early. I was worried about you. I went home for and hour and when you didn't answer the phone I decided to come over to see what was wrong.  
  
Penny - Its nothing, I was just having a bad day, I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving.  
  
Jake - Well, Dylan is now living with me. Well, technically, I'm living with her, but same thing. I know this will bring me and her closer than ever. I can just feel it.  
  
Penny - That's great Jake, well, I've had a long day, so you should probably get going.  
  
Jake - Alright, bye Penny. I'll see you tomorrow, right?  
  
Penny - Ya Jake, I'll be there.  
  
Jake - Ok, see ya then Penny - Bye Jake  
  
She closed the door and locked it. Then she went into her bedroom and got out all of her things, all her pictures of her and Jess, and Kris. She didn't have many pictures of the other three, they had never really been that close. They had just been friends of Jess and Kris's. Never really too important to her.  
  
She sat there thinking about nothing at all for the longest time. All of a sudden she was taken out of her daze by the phone's shrill ringing. She paused, wondering if she should answer it or not. She decided to answer it, considering she never received many phone calls.  
  
Penny - Hello?  
  
Jess - Hey Penny, how've you been.  
  
Penny - Well, since I last saw you, nothing really. I came home to find my boss sitting on my couch, that scared me a bit, but I've been fine.  
  
Jess - What was your boss doing there?  
  
Penny - Oh, he was just worried about me, I left work early today, no biggie.  
  
Jess - Oh, so are you two seeing each other.  
  
Penny - Well, we see each other almost every day, so ya, we are seeing each other, if you mean dating, no, not Jake.  
  
Jess - Oh, ok, I was just wondering. No need to get huffy  
  
Penny - Sorry, I just been getting a bit more on the sarcastic side, its what keeps me going these days. Ya, so has there been anyone special in your life?  
  
Jess - There's been a girl here or there, but no one really significant, nope. What about you, are you like, secretly married or something?  
  
Penny - Nope, I haven't seen anyone in a long time. I think, yep, you were my last relationship.  
  
Jess - Geez, that's quite a long time.  
  
Penny - I just haven't met anyone that I clicked with.  
  
Jess - Don't worry Penny, someone is out there for you, I know that for a fact.  
  
Penny - Thanks Jess, but I should be going, I gotta go to work again tomorrow, so I'll see ya on Saturday, OK?  
  
Jess - Great, I'll call you tomorrow night and we'll plan everything then, ok?  
  
Penny - Alright Jess, Talk to you then.  
  
Jess - See ya Penny.  
  
Penny - Bye Jess  
  
Jess - See you Saturday  
  
Penny - Alright, good night.  
  
Jess - Good night Penny.  
  
Penny - Ok, I'm hanging up now.  
  
Jess - *laughs a bit* Alright, bye Penny  
  
Penny - Bye now Jess.  
  
She hung up the phone and sighed. She missed talking to Jess. They used to have the best conversations. This was nice too although she wished they had more to talk about. She was set to make sure that changed. She wasn't going to be separated from Jess and Kris again. It took to long to get over the loss of her two best friends. It was even harder getting over Jess. Even after they broke up she had still loved him. They had always been so close, it just hurt her to leave him without any contact.  
  
She thought that her choice had been for the best, she tried to forget about them. All of them. It took a while, around 6 months of keeping herself from calling them when she was tempted. Finally, she had nearly forgotten about them, but not quite.  
  
Now that she had seen Jess again, all of her feelings came flooding back. When she hugged him she never wanted to let go. Just looking into his eyes made her realize that she just had a crush on Jake. She could finally let him go, he deserved Dylan, and she deserved him. She was ready to move on, but just how far should she move on.  
  
She didn't like being so far from Jess and Kris. It wasn't so easy to keep contact with people who lived so far away. If it things work out she would have a decision to make. Was her friendship with Jess and Kris strong enough to move her back across Miami, leaving Jake and Good Morning Miami all behind, without looking back. She wasn't too sure.  
  
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End of Chapter 2, don't forget to R&R, and tell me what you think. 


	3. Happiness Does Exist

Letting Go  
  
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Author's note - Sorry it's taken so long to update, but hey, I'm trying. Another thing, MY GRAMMAR SUX, I try to pay attention, but it all goes in one ear and out the other. I'm sorry if I constantly switch from tense to tense, I'm a straight A student with a C in English. Plus, I'm trying the quotation thing, and when I use single quotations, it usually means what a person is thinking. I'm not sure how it'll go over, lemme know what you think. Ok, this chapter will mainly focus on many different points of view. Don't worry, it will be Jake/Penny, I just have to make it a little more exciting. Tell me what you think of it all.  
  
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Disclaimer - USED JUST FOR MY HUMOR, I don't own anything, well, I guess I own Jess, and Kris, and their friends, plus the coffee place.  
  
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Happiness Does Exist  
  
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Penny woke up the next morning and didn't hit the snooze once. She just jumped out of bed and got in the shower. When she was finished getting ready, it was only 5:30. 'I really need to start setting my alarm for later.' She sat down on her couch remembering the events of the previous day. That day had started out so great, then went to utterly horrible, then became the best day she had had in a long time.  
  
She remembered how Jess was the one who got her hooked on running. She'd never really liked it before him, she found it pointless, and it was why they invented the car. Jess had never taken the time to buy a car; he ran everywhere he needed to go. 'I wonder if he still goes out running?'  
  
She decided the only way to find out was to go to that side of town and try to remember all the places they used to run. 'We used to stop at Geoff's for a cup of coffee.' She finally reached The Coffee Place at around 6:55, which was good time, considering she left at 6:25. She sat down for a cup of cappuccino. She had given up coffee for lent and ended up addicted to cappuccino. After 15 minutes, she decided to leave. As she was walking out, Jess was just about to walk in. "Hey Penny, Long time, no see" "Hey there Jess" "What are you doing here, don't you have a job?" "Ya, but we don't go in until 8, and, to answer your question, I was just out running." "Well, hey, lemme grab a cup of coffee and I'll go with you" "Ok, we just have to run in the general direction of the station."  
  
After about two and a half minutes, Jess had finished his coffee. "Hey Jess" Penny said "What time do go to lunch?" "Huh, oh, I don't even work today, its new workers training or something this month. After Mr. Johansen went on his near rampage firing spree, we needed to get a lot of new guys. I only go in on Wednesday's to teach the guys about my part of the company" "Ok, no need to go into detail, I was just wondering if you wanted to go to lunch today" "Ok, well, today works for me" "Well, I'll show you where I work"  
  
For around forty-five minutes the two just ran in the general direction of the station. Once they had reached it, they stopped and just stood there for a few minutes. "Well, this is where I work" Jess started to say something, but Penny cut him off quickly "Please don't say anything. It pays the rent" Jess just smiled at her "I wasn't going to say anything, just see you at noon." Penny glared at him "I know what you were thinking" She looked at her watch "Holy Geez, I'm late, I should be going" "Ya, well, I'll see you at noon" With that he hugged her.  
  
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Penny had been 20 minutes late, and this time, Jake wasn't the one to lecture her. It was actually Dylan who gave her a lecture, even though today's story had been much more believable. 'Ugh, I can't believe she didn't fall for the "I had to stop to help the old lady across the street" it always worked before' She decided to just let it go. It wasn't worth dwelling on.  
  
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Jake had seen Penny come in late, but he wasn't going to do anything about it, she'd been having some rough times and he was just going to let her get away with it. He sat staring at his laptop, not really sure of what to do. Penny was his best friend here in Miami, she'd been there through it all, and it seemed like something was wrong. He looked up to see Dylan yelling at Penny for being late. 'Wait a second now, isn't that my job?' Penny looked like she was just ignoring all of it.  
  
Once Dylan had gone back to her desk, he called her into his office.  
  
"Hey Jake, you wanted to see me?" "Ya actually, I saw you out there with Penny, and I just want to know why you felt the need to take control over the situation." "Well, I don't know, you seemed too busy to come out and talk to her, so I did it for you. She can't keep deciding when she wants to come in and when she wants to leave." "Dylan, I know you were only trying to do good here, but I wasn't going to do anything about it. I was just going to see if anything was wrong, she just hasn't been the same Penny we all know, and some of us love." "What is THAT supposed to mean" "Oh, no, not like that, it's just that, never mind, I just need to talk to Penny about what's been going on with her" Dylan eyes him suspiciously "Ok, whatever. I'm gonna go get back to work"  
  
Jake sat there for a little while longer, yet again, just staring at his laptop. He finally called Penny into his office  
  
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Penny had been sitting at her computer, emailing random people random things, when Jake called her into his office. She had seen Dylan come out only minutes before, looking quite angry. She walked in and closed the door. "Ya?" "Hey Penny, can we talk?" "Ya sure, what about?" "Well, I wanna talk about what's going on with you. What have you been doing this past week?" Penny looked at him "Are you implying that I've been doing drugs? Because I refuse to pee in a cup" "What, no, I don't think you've been doing drugs, I just want to know what's been going on in your life. You're all of a sudden a closed book" "Haven't I always been?" "Well, yes, technically, but more recently you've been off in your own little world." "Listen, Jake, I know you're trying to actually care about what's going on in your employees life's, but please just leave me alone. Go talk to Frank, maybe he'll tell you about all of his trips to the hospital and how they all know him by name over there" "Alright, listen, I'm worried about you Penny" "Well, don't be, I can take care of myself Jake"  
  
She walked out of Jake's office to find Dylan sitting at her desk going through her stuff. "What on earth do you think you're doing missy" "I uh, uh, I gotta run, see ya Penny" Penny sat down at her desk and looked at all the misplaced things. Lucky for her, she didn't keep personal things at the office, like letters, or her writings. She always kept them at home. She sat there organizing all of her things when all of a sudden she saw Jess standing in front of her. "Jess, what are you doing here?" "I thought we were going to lunch today, were we not?" "Oh, ya we are, is it noon already?" "Yep, so, are we going" "Ya, let me just grab my coat"  
  
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Penny had been sitting in what had been Gavin's dressing room. Ever since he had left it had been empty. They were still looking for new on air talent, yet they hadn't found any actual talent. She had been watching the rest of the office working. She was the hairdresser, and unless they were filming something, she wasn't really needed. All anyone was doing was getting ready for Monday.  
  
While she was watching them, a strange man had come up to her. "Umm, can I help you?" "Ya actually, I'm looking for Penny." "Oh, umm, she's at her desk, right through that open door right there" "Thanks." "Dylan, my name's Dylan" "Thanks Dylan" "Ya, no problem" 'Holy, why on earth is he looking for Penny. I didn't think she had any friends, huh' She saw Penny look up at him and in that second she saw a look in Penny's eyes that she had never seen before. It was a look of pure happiness. She was utterly surprised, she had always seen Penny as someone who had no life.  
  
They stopped before the reached the door and she whispered something in his ear. He let out a little laugh and leaned over and kissed her. She was shocked. She was almost positive Penny had a crush on Jake. Not the Penny had a chance with Jake in her opinion, now she didn't feel so insecure. She had Jake all to herself.  
  
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Penny and Jess were on their way out of the office when Penny saw Dylan out of the corner of her eye. She had this look on her face of pure confusion. 'Ha, she doesn't believe that I actually have friends.' She leaned over and whispered something into Jess's ear before they left the building. "Do me a favor and kiss me, we have someone watching us" Jess looked at her and laughed. He leaned in and kissed her and she almost wanted to keep it going, but she looked back to see that Dylan had closed the door. 'I really hope she saw at least some of that' "Come on Jess, lets go eat"  
  
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Dylan closed the door before Penny and the person she was with walked out of the building. "Oh my gosh" Dylan was shocked to the very core. She decided she should go talk to Jake. She practically ran to his office and closed the door. "Jake, we need to talk"  
  
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Jake was sitting at his desk working on something for Monday's piece. All of a sudden Dylan came darting in, and closed the door behind her. "Jake, we really need to talk" "Ok, shoot" "Ok, look Jake, I really like you, and it was one of the reason's Gavin broke up with me, and all this time I thought there was something going on with you and Penny, which is why I never said anything, but now I know there isn't anything, so ya." Dylan begins to breathe once again. "Ok, wow, a lot to take in in 20 seconds. Look, Dylan, I really like you too, in fact, you're the reason I stayed in Miami. I just have a few things to work out before anything can happen." "Look, Jake, if you're worried about Penny, you shouldn't be, she has a boyfriend. I saw them earlier, he picked her up for lunch, and he's probably the reason she left early yesterday and got her late today." Jake has a very stunned look on his face.  
  
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Jess had been thinking about where to take Penny all day. He finally decided on a casual French place near the station. He wasn't sure if she had time to just walk there, so he had borrowed Kris's car. It took a lot of talking and promises. She absolutely loved her car. Penny was the one who chose it out. A navy blue Jeep Wrangler. Kris had treated it like it was her baby. 'The day the girl gets in a wreck is the day she kills herself' Penny had loved the meal. She was laughing the entire time. 'I never thought I was that funny' He didn't want to take her back to work, but he knew she didn't want to go back either. When they got there she just sat there in the Jeep. "I loved this car from the moment I picked it out. I had planned on getting it, but I never had the money" He just chuckled to himself "What time can I pick you up" Penny looked surprised. "Umm, well, I get off at 4, but sometimes I stay until 5, so anytime between then." "Ok, I'll see you then."  
  
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Penny had almost refused to get out of the Jeep. She knew Jess had done some sweet-talking to get it for a bit. It was Kris's child, she was the only one who could drive it. Well, her and Penny, since she had helped pick out the car. They had been like sisters at one point, but she didn't like thinking about that. She walked back into the station and sat at her desk. She saw Jake's door closed and could her Dylan's voice inside. She couldn't make out what she was saying though. She just went to work, she figured if she actually did something, the afternoon would pass much quicker.  
  
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Ok, well, that's chapter 3, tell me what you think PLEASE. Flames are welcomed.  
  
Randi 


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